1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the invention generally relate to well completion through expansion of tubing.
2. Description of the Related Art
Forming a hydrocarbon well begins by drilling into the earth to establish a borehole. Lining the borehole with steel pipe called casing provides support to the borehole and facilitates the isolation of certain areas of the well adjacent hydrocarbon bearing formations. The casing may extend down the borehole from the surface of the well with the annular area between the outside of the casing and the borehole filled with cement to permanently set the casing in the well. As the well is drilled to a new further depth, additional tubing or liner overlaps the lower portion of a previous casing once the liner is run into the well and installed within the region below the previous casing.
Stepwise reduction in internal diameter occurs with each subsequent string of liner or casing unless the subsequent strings are expanded in place. Several techniques enable expansion of wellbore tubing in situ. For example, applying hydraulic pressure to an inside of the tubing to be expanded and/or urging a mandrel, a rotary expander tool or a cone-shaped member through the tubing to be expanded may accomplish the expansion. Even though the tubing may be expanded, the overlap between two strings continues to create challenges in order to achieve a mono-diameter well. Procedures accounting for the double tubing wall thickness and any hangers at the overlap require implementing difficult expansion techniques and/or utilizing applications with expensive and problematic approaches.
Therefore there exists a need for improved methods and apparatus of constructing a mono-diameter well.